Lawyer who argued for Trump’s immunity at Supreme Court is tapped for solicitor general

Dean John Sauer, the lawyer whose arguments led to a Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity that waylaid Donald Trump’s prosecution on charges of attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election, is Trump’s pick to be solicitor general in his second term.

The solicitor general represents the federal government at the high court.

“John is a deeply accomplished, masterful appellate attorney,” Trump said in a statement Thursday. The president-elect credited Sauer for “winning a historic victory on presidential immunity which was key to defeating the unconstitutional campaign of lawfare against me and the entire MAGA movement.”

Sauer also argued for Trump in a New York appeals court in September, seeking to overturn a $454 million judgment New York Attorney General Letitia James obtained against Trump in a case alleging pervasive fraud in his business empire. That appeal appeared to enjoy some traction with the appeals judges, although they have yet to rule on it.

Sauer spent six years as the solicitor general of Missouri, acting as the top appellate lawyer for that state. He got his undergraduate degree from Duke University, a master’s in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia.

If confirmed by the Senate, Sauer would represent the United States in key arguments at the Supreme Court and lead a staff of elite lawyers at the Justice Department that handles all high-court litigation involving the federal government and makes decisions about when to file appeals of lower-court decisions.